I've reviewed hundreds of laptops, so I know what to look for in laptops regardless of price. The cheapest laptop is the Asus ZenBook 13 UX333.. Hundreds of dollars more expensive laptops do everything they can. In some cases, much better.
But if you have a slightly lower budget or want to play games on your laptop, the options below are also included. If you are looking for savings, you can also check out the best laptop deals.
Best budget laptop
Best Budget Notebook: Asus ZenBook 13 UX333
Why should I buy this: Fast, portable and inexpensive battery life.
Someone's: Everyone except gamers.
Why we chose Asus ZenBook 13 UX333:
You can't expect quality from a cheaper laptop than the new flagship iPhone, but ZenBook is an amazing surprise. The latest ZenBook 13 uses the same all-metal unibody chassis, slightly over half an inch thick and weighing 2.5 pounds for half a pound. The latest version offers an amazing amount of horsepower in a small, affordable package. Featuring an 8th generation Intel Core i5 processor, ZenBook easily outperforms the closest competitor running legacy hardware.
In a better way, the laptop is really a pleasure to use. At this price there is an excellent keyboard, one of the best keyboards among 13-inch laptops. It also offers a 1080p non-touch display with a wide touchpad and a very thin bezel. The display has been enhanced to provide excellent contrast regardless of price, with an impressive increase in color gamut. This is not a 2-in-1, so it won't shake the display of your ZenBook 13 UX333 for use as a tablet. But if you focus on general use, Asus can offer you this system at an affordable price. Amazing battery life is the best cherry.
Asus ZenBook UX333 won the Editors & # 39; Choice Award because it is excellent or superior in all important indicators. Not only is it one of the cheapest laptops, it's one of the best laptops, regardless of price.
Full Review of Asus ZenBook 13 UX333
Best budget notebook for students: Lenovo ThinkBook 13s
Why should I buy thisThinkBook combines great features with solid design and fun features at an affordable price.
Someone's: Students and anyone who wants a highly secure and streamlined system.
Why we chose Lenovo ThinkBook 13:
The 13-inch size is perfect for midrange computing, and the ThinkBook 13s offers incredible hardware capacity, given the price. Options include Core i5 and i7 Intel 8th Gen CPUs, up to 16GB RAM and 0.5GB of M.2 PCIe storage. Onboard Intel graphics means you don't play games on this laptop, but they do support Dolby audio for improved media viewing.
Less than 3 pounds, the ThinkBook 13s is an excellent portable system and offers up to 11 hours of battery life so you don't have to worry about being too far away from the charging point during office hours.
If you're concerned about privacy and the sacredness of your data, the ThinkBook 13s is an excellent security feature. The power button has a built-in fingerprint reader for file encryption and quick login. There's also a webcam privacy cover so no one can accidentally see what it wasn't intended to do.
With entry-level models under $ 1,000 and more powerful hardware options, they're still offered at a high price at a price that won't break the bank.
Best Budget Chromebook: Acer Chromebook 514
Why should I buy this: Great screen and all-day battery life are very economical.
Someone's: Those who don't mind sacrificing their budget look for features.
Why we chose Acer Chromebook 514:
Chromebooks have been voted a popular budget over the years and many have beaten us. The Acer Chromebook 514 is a great example of this. It's a 1080p display, limited but fast, but has enough Intel processors and enough memory. Windows laptops are rarely close to their value and are portable with all-day battery life.
The low price of the Acer Chromebook Spin 514 can't find a budget range for this price point using a fast solid state drive or a separate, discrete GPU, but with some limitations, it's not needed for the average Chrome OS user. The CPU isn't fast either, but it's fast enough for everyday tasks.
It also has a Full HD (1,920 x 1,080) resolution IPS display, sufficient for web browsing and productivity tasks, 8GB RAM and 64GB eMMC flash storage. The keyboard is noticed with a very satisfying feel, especially when typing, and the backlight is stylishly finished, making it easy to use even in the dark.
You should also be familiar with Chrome OS. It's not as functional as Windows and works best when you have an active internet connection, but it's much more advanced than it is today. If you use a lot of Google web services and watch streaming services like Netflix, a Chromebook like 514 is a great way to save a lot of money on your next upgrade.
Full Acer Chromebook 514 Reviews
Best Budget Gaming Laptop: Dell G3 Gaming Laptop
Why should I buy this: Robust game performance for under $ 1,000.
Someone's: Gamers, gamers only.
Why chose Dell G3 gaming laptop:
Gaming laptops are usually very expensive, but Dell G3 gaming laptops are a good example of not having to. For about $ 700, you get an Intel Core i5-8300 CPU, a GTX 1050 graphics chip, 8GB of RAM, and 1TB of hybrid-HDD storage, with a faster CPU, more powerful graphics, more and faster storage and memory options. Will be provided. If you don't mind a little more, you can now use next-generation components like 9th-generation processors and 16-series graphics cards, but the configuration is $ 950. All models come with a 15.6-inch 1080p IPS display.
Proper build quality and superior performance in a relatively lightweight chassis, the G3 offers a comprehensive rugged gaming package at a very competitive price. There are weak points, especially weaker than the amazing display. It's blurry but if you turn up the setting it still looks good. Similarly, storage options aren't the fastest, but at the cost of lowering prices on these capable game consoles.
Gaming laptops are much better, but they are struggling to find laptops as powerful as Dell's G3 at this price point. Fantastic low budget game machine.
Dell G3 Gaming Laptop Full Review
Best budget notebook for video editing: Acer Swift 3
Why should I buy thisA: Swift is a great kit for video editors, with strong battery life despite its powerful hardware.
Someone's: Video editors and people who don't care about powerful styles.
Why we chose Acer Swift 3:
Swift 3 is a rugged, slightly dull laptop with battery life, powerful internal hardware, and an attractive price tag, but it's almost a complete package, so it's rarely used in budget systems.
Wrapped in 2019, a rather dull and typical silver chassis, the Swift 3 doesn't turn its head, but holding the grip widens its eyes. With an 8th generation Intel Core i3, i5 or i7 Whiskey Lake CPU, up to 16GB RAM and up to 1.5GB of storage (up to 1TB HDD and 512GB SSD), this system has excellent hardware. It doesn't fit your desktop, but you'll be amazed at the performance you get at an affordable price when compared to a laptop.
Even better, it also comes with a separate Nvidia MX150 graphics chip. In other words, hardware-assisted rendering is done in a much shorter time than systems without a dedicated GPU, allowing you to play light games at downtime without sacrificing frame rate.
Despite decent hardware, battery life is also very robust. We took about 9 hours in the video loop test, which is enough to pass without charging the average national flight.
Read the full review on Acer Swift 3
Best Business Budget Laptop: Dell Inspiron 13 7000
Why should I buy thisEquipped with powerful and efficient hardware, this budget laptop will extend your battery life during your all-day work schedule.
Someone's: Office workers who want to play games at recess.
Why chose the Dell Inspiron 13 7000:
Whether you enter another spreadsheet or stop playing at the end of a long workday, the Dell Inspiron 13 7000 is in great balance. It offers powerful and efficient general computing power, like 9th generation Intel CPUs (optional with Core i5, Core i7 and Core i9 chips) and up to 16GB of RAM, and this laptop boasts a dedicated graphics chip. The standard model includes the Nvidia GTX 1050 3GB for entry-level games for, but there's also a new 1650 option that lets you play almost anything with enough settings.
With the usual Inspiron build quality, we expect the system to borrow a lot of great design features from the better XPS range, but offer it in a more affordable form. It's not a light laptop over four pounds, but it has a leak-proof keyboard, full Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth connectivity, and a top-mounted 720p webcam for meetings.
It also distinguishes itself from all silver contemporaries through its attractive white paint work.
Best Budget 2-in-1: Microsoft Surface Go
Why should I buy this: Fast, light and versatile.
Someone's: A person who is small and needs 2-in-1 mobility.
Why chose Microsoft Surface Go:
Surface Go may be limited by its small size and low-power Intel processor, but it offers something you can't see at all in the Windows world. 2-in-1 with true budget in mind. Its build is as powerful as its larger brother, the Surface Pro, and boasts a beautiful, bright display to boot from. fat? It's actually thin and light enough to hold with the right one-handed hand like a tablet.
Performance like an iPad or Chromebook isn't smooth, but it can't do as much as Surface Go running the full version of Windows 10. Bit lacking when viewed from the front of the battery. It's the most unfortunate compromise because it's a portable device. We also hope that a good keyboard and Surface Pen will be bundled.
But even with fair flaws, it's the best budget 2 to 1 to buy.
Review the full Microsoft Surface Go
Research and Buying Tips
Is a low budget laptop good?
sure! Depending on what you need for your laptop, budget options are as good as advanced ones. If you only need a laptop to watch Netflix and answer emails, using a budget Chromebook can save you hundreds of dollars and won't cost you more than $ 2,000.
That is, you need to pay attention to which system to choose. Low-budget laptops tend to make some sacrifices in the absence of expensive options, so make sure your system of interest can do what you need before buying.
Does a cheap laptop have Thunderbolt 3?
Low-budget laptops have certain features that are not common, and Thunderbolt 3 is one of them. Many budget laptops offer USB-C support, but some offer only Intel's Thunderbolt 3 specifications, such as the Dell Inspiron 13 7000.
Do low budget laptops have good battery life?
Some people do not. Models that prioritize portability tend to offer a little more, and you'll want to skip a dedicated graphics chip to maximize battery life.
However, you can find many budget systems that can be provided all day with one charge. In some cases, options like the Asus ZenBook 13 UX333 have better battery life than many laptops, which cost hundreds of dollars more. Many Chromebooks have good battery life due to the light weight of the software.
Can you find a good display on a low budget laptop?
As with battery life or specific ports, you need to choose and choose the right laptop. A good display should be a key component of a laptop, since color accuracy and contrast may be some area where you can save money on a particular system.
The best view of the budget recommendations is Asus ZenBook 13 UX333This is another reason that is our first choice.
Is AMD better for a budget laptop?
That may be the case, but Intel is still much more dominant in the laptop space, which offers a variety of options. Even for laptops under $ 1,000, few of the best laptops offer AMD as an option. Therefore, buying a laptop that meets specifications is much better than simply choosing AMD instead of Intel.
However, as Ryzen APUs use more laptops throughout 2019, the AMD alternatives are starting to get slightly more steam, especially on budget gaming laptops.
Editors' Picks